Jointly-developed between Ford Performance in the US and DJR Team Penske in Australia, the Falcon’s race-going replacement has been a long time coming ever since Ford stopped production of the locally-made four-door in late 2016.

Wearing a thinly-veiled camouflage wrap, we see the racer stays fairly true to its road-going counterpart, however it is reported that the dimensions will differ slightly in order to fit the Car of the Future new-generation chassis. The roof has most likely been raised to comply with regulations.

Scott McLaughlin shared day one testing with team-mate Fabian Coulthard, before the car is shipped to Victoria’s Phillip Island circuit later this week for further high-speed tests.

The racers will take to the wheel after the season finale in Newcastle in a homologation test of straight-line speed, with Holden Commodore and Nissan Altima supercars also on hand for comparison purposes.

DJR Team Penske, Tickford Racing and 23Red Racing will all use the Mustang for the 2019 season, with Melbourne-based teams unable to test until they take delivery after the New Year.

Ford is currently leading the Supercars Championship, with Scott McLaughlin leading Shane van Gisbergen by 14 points heading into the season finale, the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.